Canton teams top regional robofest

Two teams from Canton that won their divisions at the Michigan Regional Robofest Championship will compete in the 13th annual Robofest World Championship on Saturday, May 19, at Lawrence Technological University.

Robofest is an international competition of autonomous robots - computer-programmed to act independently and not radio-controlled - that encourages students to have fun while learning principles of science, technology, engineering, and math.

Students design, construct and program the robots, and adult coaches are not allowed to assist during the events. Teams compete in the junior division (grades 5-9) or senior division (grades 9-12), using a variety of computer programming languages.

In this year's competition game, a rescue robot must circumnavigate a rectangular platform, grab silver balls on top of towers and then deliver the rescued balls to the “hospital,” a black box on one end of the platform. During the mission, the robot must measure the distance between tower buildings and report it in millimeters.

Two other events, Exhibition and RoboFashion Dance, allow competitors to demonstrate their imagination and creativity.

The May 19 championship competition will be held 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Lawrence Tech's Ridler Field House, 21000 West Ten Mile Road, Southfield. Admission and parking are free. Spectators can become judges to select people's choice awards. They may win raffle prizes.

Last year almost 1,500 students from 11 states and four other countries participated in the annual Robofest competition founded in 2000 by CJ Chung, professor of computer science at Lawrence Tech.